Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 4, 2025
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Isolation, Fixation, and Immunofluorescence Imaging of Mouse Adrenal Glands
Published on: October 2, 2018
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Female baboon adrenal zona fasciculata and zona reticularis regulatory and functional proteins decrease across the
Hillary Fries Huber1, Cun Li2, Dongbin Xie2
1Southwest National Primate Research Center, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, 8715 W. Military, San Antonio, TX, 78227, USA. hhuber@txbiomed.org.
Geroscience
|February 4, 2024
Summary
Adrenocortical zonal function declines with age, with the zona fasciculata (ZF) showing greater changes than the zona reticularis (ZR). This study quantifies age-related protein changes in baboon adrenal glands.
Area of Science:
- Endocrinology
- Aging Research
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Adrenocortical function changes throughout life, complicated by rapid steroid concentration shifts.
- Understanding life-course trajectories of adrenal zones (zona fasciculata and reticularis) is crucial but challenging.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify age-related changes in key proteins within the zona fasciculata (ZF) and zona reticularis (ZR).
- To investigate life-course adrenocortical function trajectories using immunohistochemistry.
Main Methods:
- Immunohistochemistry was used to quantify 12 key proteins in 28 female baboon adrenal glands (aged 7.5–22.1 years).
- Proteins assessed included those involved in metabolism, proliferation, steroidogenesis (StAR), oxidative stress, and mitochondrial function.
Main Results:
- Abundance of ten ZF proteins decreased with age; cell cycle inhibitors and oxidative stress markers increased.
- Seven of 12 proteins showed similar age-related changes in both ZF and ZR.
- Zona fasciculata StAR decreased with age, while zona reticularis StAR remained unchanged.
Conclusions:
- Zona fasciculata function appears to decrease more significantly with age than zona reticularis function.
- Age-related alterations in adrenocortical zonal protein expression were identified.
- Further research is needed to determine the causes and consequences of these aging-related changes.
Keywords:
Adrenocortical aging; Adrenocortical life-course function; Nonhuman primateCortisolGlucocorticoidHypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal-axisMore Related Videos
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